Poolside Reconnaissance Mission

Maya felt like a straight-up zombie as she dragged herself toward the Thompsons' backyard pool party. Three consecutive nights of binge-watching apocalypse shows will do that to you. The July sun baked her shoulders, and she could already hear the splashing and laughter from behind the fence.

"You good?" Jenna asked, falling into step beside her. "You look like you haven't slept since finals week."

"Basically," Maya muttered, adjusting her swimsuit straps. "Also, Tyler's gonna be there. With Jessica."

Jenna winced. "Oof. That's gonna be a whole thing."

Tyler was Maya's almost-boyfriend until two weeks ago, when Jessica—captain of the cheer squad and actual human ray of sunshine—decided she was interested. Now Maya was stuck in that awkward position where she had to pretend everything was totally fine while watching them be couple-y.

It was exhausting.

When they walked through the gate, chaos erupted. About twenty people crowded around the inground pool, music blasting from someone's portable speaker. Tyler and Jessica were indeed there, sitting way too close on a lounge chair. Tyler kept tossing a baseball up and catching it, which was such a try-hard move. Maya wanted to roll her eyes so hard they'd get stuck.

Then she saw Connor.

Connor was this quiet kid from her English class who always wore hoodies, even in ninety-degree weather. He was standing by the snack table, looking like he'd rather be literally anywhere else. And he was—Maya realized with a start—spying on Tyler and Jessica.

Not creepy spying. Just... watching them with this weirdly intense expression.

Maya grabbed two sodas and made her way over.

"What's the deal?" she asked, sliding next to him and handing him one.

Connor jumped like she'd startled him. "What? Nothing. I'm just... observing."

"You're totally spying."

"Okay, fine." Connor cracked the soda open. "Tyler and I were supposed to work on our history project today. He blew me off for Jessica. Again. I'm just waiting for the right moment to interrupt."

"Be my guest," Maya said. "I've been dealing with this for two weeks. It's a nightmare."

Connor studied her. "Wait, you and Tyler—"

"Almost. And then Jessica happened."

"That sucks."

"Big time." Maya sighed. "You know what though? I'm done being sad about it. I'm gonna own this party."

Connor grinned. "You got a plan?"

"I'm gonna challenge Tyler to a contest."

"What kind?"

Maya spotted the pool volleyball net. "Pool volleyball. Me and you versus them."

"I'm terrible at volleyball."

"So are they!" Maya pointed at Tyler and Jessica, who were currently attempting to take a selfie and failing spectacularly. "Plus, Tyler's got that baseball thing going on, but hand-eye coordination? Not his strong suit."

Connor considered this, then nodded. "I'm in. But if we lose, you're buying me pizza."

"Deal."

What happened next was absolute chaos. Maya and Connor weren't good at volleyball—they were terrible—but they were having so much fun that it didn't matter. Tyler kept trying to show off and missing the ball. Jessica kept getting her hair wet and acting like it was a tragedy. Meanwhile, Maya and Connor were diving for shots, laughing hysterically, accidentally splashing everyone in the vicinity.

By the time they'd somehow won three games straight, half the party was watching and cheering. Maya's heart was pounding, her hair was a disaster, and she'd never felt more alive.

"Good game," Connor said, panting as they high-fived.

"You too," Maya said, and she meant it.

Later, as the sun started to set, they sat on the edge of the pool with their feet in the water. Tyler and Jessica had left early, apparently, but honestly? Maya barely noticed.

"Hey," Connor said quietly. "You wanna hang out this weekend? Maybe watch some movies or something?"

Maya smiled, feeling something warm and hopeful bloom in her chest. "Yeah. I'd like that. But no zombie movies, okay? I've had enough of those for a while."

Connor laughed. "Deal."

And as they sat there watching the sky turn purple and gold, Maya thought maybe things didn't always work out the way you planned—but sometimes, somehow, they worked out better.